No Gas Day

It’s simple, try your best to not use gas on** May 22nd**. That’s the day Noah has chosen. I think that one day isn’t enough, think of it as January 1st: it’s a day to make a resolution. Starting May 22nd I resolve to use less gas. Not becuase I hate Exxon, not becuase I think it’s bad for the environment: it’s bad for me!

I’m spending an extra $10 to fill my tank than I did last year. I drive enough that I have to fill up every 2 or 3 weeks. Some simple math shows that I’m out over $250 each year because prices have shifted. Economics suggests I need to shift my demand (or supply, whichever way you see it) curve and use a bit less. It really can’t be too hard, I have a free bus pass for goodness sakes!

I’ve seen a few petitions and things spread around but this is different. This is a blog meme: something that we hope to pass around the internet through bloggers. If blogs are as powerful as they say they are then why wouldn’t something like this get noticed? I’m thinking social change here, not a “lets lower gas prices by collectively complaining.” I see this as an opportunity to start thinking differently about usage. So, why wouldn’t every blogger make a little post tagged “nogasday” and spread the idea?

Seriously, bloggers are (for the most part) very self-centered and are only interested in a) their taffic, b) their earnings, c) theirselves or any mixture of the three. Why else do you think I have the Feedburner button over on the right side of my site?

My point is this: I wish a few bloggers would see some value in spreading this idea. It’s not an attempt to get the government/oil companies/prices to change. It’s an attempt to get ourselves to change. Who deserves a break more than I do? I wish some people out there had some interesting conservation ideas/tips/stories.

Anyway, I’ll be very interested to see if a) enough people would be willing to post their thoughts about this and b) actively resolve to make some sort of change next week.